1. < Breast Cancer

Opting out of radiation or chemo

Posted by brighterdays @brighterdays, Mar 21, 2023

Has anyone ever had a lumpectomy but opted out of radiation therapy or chemotherapy? Does anyone have statistics on the recurrence rate if one chooses not to do one or both?

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Zebra | @californiazebra | Dec 28, 2023
In reply to @blackcat "What does CYA mean? Ask your surgeon why she didn't say anything earlier." + (show)
@blackcat

What does CYA mean? Ask your surgeon why she didn't say anything earlier.

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@blackcat
CYA means cover your a** meaning the surgeon was pointing the finger at the oncologist to save herself. I didn’t confront her about knowing that I was not taking an AI because it was now water under the bridge and I just wanted to move forward and eliminate the recurrent cancer. I avoided a confrontation about it as I always joke with my friends that there are two people you don’t want to anger in this world, your surgeon and your chef. 😊 She was getting ready to move back east so a new surgeon took over my case anyway.

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maliamd | @maliamd | Dec 29, 2023
In reply to @trinal "I am choosing the same path. You are the first person to share this that I..." + (show)
@trinal

I am choosing the same path.
You are the first person to share this that I have encountered.

My question is, how does anyone know if there is cancer in my system now?
If AI is used to prevent Estrogen from landing on cancer cells, and I do not have any cancer in me……. Then taking AI and feeling bad is for what?
Bottom line……how do I find out if cancer is still there?

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I was diagnosed 4 years ago with ER/PR positive breast cancer. IB. No lymph nodes involved. Lumpectomy. Had radiation and AI. Routine physical this year found my breast cancer had spread to several of my bones. I was considered very low risk and yet all it took was ONE cell to get out and spread. Close monitoring for the rest of your life will hopefully catch early any future breast cancer spread.

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2 replies
resort | @resort | Dec 29, 2023
In reply to @trinal "I am choosing the same path. You are the first person to share this that I..." + (show)
@trinal

I am choosing the same path.
You are the first person to share this that I have encountered.

My question is, how does anyone know if there is cancer in my system now?
If AI is used to prevent Estrogen from landing on cancer cells, and I do not have any cancer in me……. Then taking AI and feeling bad is for what?
Bottom line……how do I find out if cancer is still there?

Jump to this post

We all have lots of cancer cells in our body. Just most time our immune system can prevent cancer cells from forming tumors. Breast cancer is systemic disease. You can be sured that there’s breast cancer cells in our body and systems even if the surgery seems to remove all.

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javagirl | @javagirl | Dec 29, 2023

My doctor gave me some percentages regarding recurrence for IDC, Stage 1a as follows:
Lumpectomy only - possible 39% recurrence in 2 years
Lumpectomy plus radiation lowers it to 14% in 2 years and 20% in 20 years
Depends on 3.5 weeks, 6.5 weeks or partial radiation treatments of 5 times (I am over 70 so there is new information that if you are over 65, you may be able to do the 5 day treatment or omit radiation).
Lumpectomy plus endocrine therapy lowers it to 7% in 20 years
Mastectomy - 2-5% recurrence
Of course this depends on the type, stage, etc. of your particular cancer. There is a lot to consider so read everything you can. Just be sure to go to the authoritative medical journals and sites like Cleveland Clinic, MD Anderson, PubMed, National Library of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, etc.

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trinal | @trinal | Dec 29, 2023
In reply to @maliamd "I was diagnosed 4 years ago with ER/PR positive breast cancer. IB. No lymph nodes involved...." + (show)
@maliamd

I was diagnosed 4 years ago with ER/PR positive breast cancer. IB. No lymph nodes involved. Lumpectomy. Had radiation and AI. Routine physical this year found my breast cancer had spread to several of my bones. I was considered very low risk and yet all it took was ONE cell to get out and spread. Close monitoring for the rest of your life will hopefully catch early any future breast cancer spread.

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I am sooooo sorry to hear this has happened to you. I must thank you for answering my email. You may have changed the direction of my life because you took a moment to share your situation and experience. Again, thank you.

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sue417 | @sue417 | Dec 30, 2023
In reply to @rene1636 "Having DCIS is qualification enough to request the Oncotype DCIS genetic test. It will tell you..." + (show)
@rene1636

Having DCIS is qualification enough to request the Oncotype DCIS genetic test. It will tell you the percentage of chance for reoccurrence or new bc. My percentage was in the low range so I opted for a lumpectomy & no radiation, even though it was highly recommended, much to the dismay of my Oncologist. I did a lot of research on radiation & the meds & didn’t feel it was worth the risk of potential bad side effects. Another factor in my decision was that the breast can only be radiated one time so if there is a reoccurrence or other type of bc, the only option left would have been mastectomy. Since I do have an higher than normal chance for getting bc again I wanted to leave my options open. Also chose to not take the hormone suppression meds. My lumpectomy pathology report showed no cancer at all was present. It was apparently all removed in my stereotactic biopsy. I do faithfully get a yearly mammogram & 1 diagnostic mammogram on that breast (for 5 years) to catch anything that might show up. So far my mammograms this year were perfectly clear. I wish you the best on the decision you make!!

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Hi
Curious as to what dcis you had was it in milk ducts

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1 reply
orsejr | @orsejr | Dec 30, 2023
In reply to @maliamd "I was diagnosed 4 years ago with ER/PR positive breast cancer. IB. No lymph nodes involved...." + (show)
@maliamd

I was diagnosed 4 years ago with ER/PR positive breast cancer. IB. No lymph nodes involved. Lumpectomy. Had radiation and AI. Routine physical this year found my breast cancer had spread to several of my bones. I was considered very low risk and yet all it took was ONE cell to get out and spread. Close monitoring for the rest of your life will hopefully catch early any future breast cancer spread.

Jump to this post

I thought stage 1 B meant small lymph node involvement . May I ask how old you are and did you have Oncotype done?

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rene1636 | @rene1636 | Dec 31, 2023
In reply to @sue417 "Hi Curious as to what dcis you had was it in milk ducts" + (show)
@sue417

Hi
Curious as to what dcis you had was it in milk ducts

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Yes, my DCIS was in a milk duct. Mine was located mid breast on the outer side. It was DCIS grade 2.

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